Explanation of Design: This elevator control panel is located outside of the elevator. One must select the floor number here and there are two elevators. One does not know which elevator is in use. There is a handicap selection but it signals an error message. There are no instructions on how to use this control panel and when you arrive for the first time. You start playing with the buttons to figure it out. Somebody eventually comes along and presses a button and you realize what to do next. Inside the elevator there is only an open door and close door selection. People use these because they are so used to selecting a number inside of an elevator.
Design Issue: This elevator is not easy to use and goes against the good design principles mentioned in the Norman book, (p 213). "Make it easy to determine what actions are possible at any moment." None of the instructions are visible. "Make things visible." (p 213). The user has no idea what to do next and cannot use previous knowledge to make a decision about the process. "Make it easy to evaluate the current state of the system. follow natural mappings between intentions and the required actions." ( p 213).
Recommendation for design improvement: Make sure that the user can figure out what to do and tell what is going on. (Norman, p 213) If a user does not know how to use the product at hand and it becomes a chore, then the designer has probably not done a great job of evaluating his user. If this type of control is to be used, then proper instructions need to be placed near the panel. The fact that there are two elevators serve no assistance to the selection of the buttons. One elevator appears before the other and the user must wait. Provide a panel that shows where the elevator is at the moment, so that the user knows which elevator to use. Make it obvious and the user will feel comfortable.
Elevator Buttons
Explanation of Design: This elevator control panel is located outside of the elevator. One must select the floor number here and there are two elevators. One does not know which elevator is in use. There is a handicap selection but it signals an error message. There are no instructions on how to use this control panel and when you arrive for the first time. You start playing with the buttons to figure it out. Somebody eventually comes along and presses a button and you realize what to do next. Inside the elevator there is only an open door and close door selection. People use these because they are so used to selecting a number inside of an elevator.Design Issue:
This elevator is not easy to use and goes against the good design principles mentioned in the Norman book, (p 213). "Make it easy to determine what actions are possible at any moment."
None of the instructions are visible. "Make things visible." (p 213).
The user has no idea what to do next and cannot use previous knowledge to make a decision about the process. "Make it easy to evaluate the current state of the system. follow natural mappings between intentions and the required actions." ( p 213).
Recommendation for design improvement: Make sure that the user can figure out what to do and tell what is going on. (Norman, p 213) If a user does not know how to use the product at hand and it becomes a chore, then the designer has probably not done a great job of evaluating his user. If this type of control is to be used, then proper instructions need to be placed near the panel. The fact that there are two elevators serve no assistance to the selection of the buttons. One elevator appears before the other and the user must wait. Provide a panel that shows where the elevator is at the moment, so that the user knows which elevator to use. Make it obvious and the user will feel comfortable.